


Tattoos

by shnuffeluv



Category: NCIS
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, But gosh darn it if i don't enjoy it, Case Fic, I Ship It, I'm single-handedly the captain and only crew member of this ship, M/M, Not Beta Read, Slash, Tattoos, so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 16:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14217381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: If you've ever seen someone you like and then thinkoh no, they're hot,then you have felt Timothy McGee's pain. His only problem? He's bisexual and Nick has some body art Tim likes. Oh, if only he didn't feel attraction to his co-workers!





	Tattoos

**Author's Note:**

> Hhhhh it's been forever since I've written for this ship but I love it so. It comes in second place in my NCIS ships, my only bigger one being McNozzo. Ah, well. I'm too far down the rabbit hole now. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy my madness!

Tim had never thought his heart could hammer quite as hard as it had that day. His palms were sweaty while his mouth was dry. His eyes were moving all over Nick's body while his mouth was frozen in awe. He had never seen a sight quite this pretty before, but Nick was absolutely  _covered_  in tattoos, and it was a glorious sight to behold. Tim turned away from where he was watching Nick take off his shirt and finished changing into his gym clothes before Nick could turn and notice him staring, but the heat in his face refused to go away. The first thought to enter his mind that wasn't complete nonsense after that experience happened halfway out of the locker room, and he was still in such shock that he nearly blurted it out right then and there.  _Oh no, he's hot!_

Being bisexual in the office had never been more frustrating than after that first time Tim saw Nick's tattoos. He wondered what the stories behind them were, and who had done them, and the most frequent question, that made Tim angry at himself for even thinking, was whether or not he'd ever get to run his hands over them and learn every arch and curve of Nick's body as well as every spot of ink that covered it.

Gibbs was very quick to call Tim out on being distracted in the gym whenever Nick was there. He'd usually yell something along the lines of, "McGee! Unless you like your face three inches deep in the floor mat, focus!"

Tim would apologize by refocusing on whoever he was sparring, and try to ignore the sight of Nick, sweaty and exhilarated, beating the crap out of a punching bag.

After a particularly grueling training session, they went into the locker room, and Nick swaggered over to Tim with a stupid grin on his face that made Tim think of Tony. "Any reason you were focusing on me more than anyone else in the gym today? You took quite a few hits from Bishop."

"I like your tats," Tim said simply, taking off his shirt quickly, ready to change into something a little more formal, something that would remind him he was at work. "I don't recognize the artist, but I really like the style."

Nick's grin widened. "You got punched in the face repeatedly...because you couldn't place who did my tats?"

Tim just shrugged. "What? I like them, they're real pieces of art."

"Thanks, man," Nick said, smile softening. "No one really notices, because Abby never has to see me shirtless, and no one else seems to care. It's nice to know someone else has an appreciation for that sort of thing."

"Yeah," Tim said. "I got my butt tattooed to impress a girl once. I went for 'mom'. If I had to do it over, I might have gotten something a little more...personal."

Nick chuckled. "I understand that. Your first tat is almost never something you're proud of."

Tim finished changing and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I guess. I'll see you in the bullpen."

He rushed out of the room, his face flushed red and his arms crossed. He muttered to himself all the way to the elevator. "Way to go, McGee. I guarantee he knows now, and he'll never let you live it down,  _ever_."

Since there were people in the elevator, he shut up when it opened and kept quiet when he walked out to the bullpen. They had work to do, after all. BOLOs to track, people to look into, bad guys to catch.

One particular bad guy they were going after, a Petty Officer Johnson, they suspected of being part of a drug ring. Tim was running background on his known associates while Bishop was trying to track his physical location. Nick was just walking into the bullpen, his shirt tight as ever. Tim tried to ignore his "helpful" thoughts of the tats underneath, and what Nick might look like if one of those shirts were just a bit more sheer..."McGee!" Gibbs snapped at him, and Tim started, turning around to find his boss glaring at him. "Focus," he growled.

Tim blushed, winced, nodded, and turned around, getting back to work. He only looked up again when he had finished his background checks and none of them panned out. By then Gibbs was gone, and Nick was chatting with Ellie. Tim felt an irrational strain of jealousy run through him seeing Ellie laugh at Nick's joke, and Nick's attention solely focused on her. He knew there was nothing between them, but he still wanted Nick all to himself.

Nick glanced over at Tim and continued the conversation that he and Ellie had been having, asking, "What do you think, huh? Would you ever get a tattoo for an undercover job?"

"A temporary one, maybe," Tim said with a shrug. "Something permanent, that has to mean something, don't you think?"

There was a spark in Nick's eyes, and Tim fought back the blush creeping onto his cheeks. "You know what it's about, McGee," Nick said with a laugh. "You've got that soul-searching, 'I'm making life mean something' kinda outlook. It's sweet."

"Thanks?" Tim said, voice rising at the end like it was a question. "Sweet" was not the kind of impression he wanted to make. "Hot," maybe. "Sexy" would be nice, Nick acted on sexy. But sweet? Since when did anyone sweet get the guy of their dreams?

"It's a compliment," Nick assured with a wink.

Tim rolled his eyes, about to reply, when Gibbs swooped in, calling them all to arms. Johnson was on the move, and they needed to do something, fast. Before Tim knew what was going on, they were rushing out of the bullpen, downstairs, and into cars. Tim and Nick wound up in one, while Gibbs and Bishop were in the other.

Nick was driving fast, faster than even Gibbs was, and that was saying something, considering Gibbs' driving record. "Woah!" Tim said as they swerved onto the highway, just missing a clip by an eighteen-wheeler. "Nick, careful!" he chastised.

"Careful isn't going to bag us this guy, McGee," Nick said.

"Being dead isn't either," Tim pointed out.

Nick said nothing but removed the gas pedal from the floor of the car by a fraction. Tim sighed in relief.

When they got to the place where Johnson was supposed to be, it was empty. An old motel room, completely cleared of any personal effects. "Clear," Tim said.

Nick walked past him. "This is why you should always go fast, McGee," Nick said. "So you don't miss the bad guy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, rub it in," Tim sullenly muttered. "I was wrong. Still glad we're alive, though."

Nick scoffed. "We'd still be alive if I had gone as fast as I wan--"

There was the sound of a gun cocking close to Tim's ear and Nick turned, words dying on his tongue. Tim didn't dare move to confirm that there was, in fact, a gun pointed at him. "Took you idiots long enough," a man spat behind him. "I was thinking you'd never get here."

"Yeah, well," Nick said with a shrug, "Tim insisted we slow down on the highway. Sorry for the hold up."

"Put your guns down," the man growled. "Both of you."

Tim quickly turned his safety on and let his gun drop to the floor. Nick was hesitant until Tim felt the gun barrel press into his neck, at which point Nick quickly complied. "Not very smart of you two," the man gloated. "Didn't even look through the parking lot. You ran right past me to get in here!"

"What do you want?" Nick asked.

"I want you two to come with me," the man said evenly.

Tim winced as the cold metal of the gun was once again pressed into his skin. "You don't follow me, Agent Torres, and Agent McGee here dies."

The man dragged Tim out of the room and Tim frantically searched for something to say. "So you did your research on us, then?" he asked.

"Shut up, Agent McGee," the man said. "I'd hate to blow that pretty little brain of yours out of your head."

Nick walked out of the motel room and said, "Petty Officer Johnson, the second I get the chance, you're dead."

Petty Officer Johnson laughed. "Not gonna happen," he gloated. "Not if you like your partner alive. Walk."

They walked across the parking lot, to a fence where a pool was, empty in the winter weather. Tim was shoved through the gate and over to the deep end of the pool, Nick right next to him. Tim's heart was thudding in his chest again, and this time it wasn't because of infatuation. They were most likely going to die, or at least break something if they jumped into the pool, or more likely, were shoved. Petty Officer Johnson lowered the gun from Tim's head and moved it to Nick's. "Now, Agent McGee, you're going to tell me exactly how much NCIS knows about me, and then you're gonna jump into the pool here, probably breaking a bone or two. If you're lucky, I'll then leave you and your partner here while I make my way to Mexico. If I don't like what you have to say, well, then, they're just gonna have to scrub your blood from the pool tiles."

Tim swallowed. "We know you're part of a drug ring, but it's unclear which one, we know you've never used any of your product yourself but a few of your buddies have gotten their supply from you before, and we know that you've killed to keep this operation quiet."

Taking a chance, Tim glanced over and took a good look at Petty Officer Johnson. His eyes were wild and he looked far too desperate for Tim and Nick to make it out of this unscathed. "Who knows this?" Johnson asked.

Tim didn't answer right away. Was it a good idea to reveal Gibbs and Bishop were on their way? Would that buy them time or make their deaths that much quicker?

"Who. Knows?" Johnson asked again, bringing his gun to rest at the top of Nick's spine.

"Just me and my partner," Tim said. "Just us, there isn't anyone who knew where we were going, and we won't tell a soul about this."

"You're right," Johnson said, swinging the gun to point at Tim's forehead. "You're not."

Nick elbowed Johnson in the stomach just as he fired a shot, Tim hitting the deck so he wouldn't get hurt. As soon as he was down, he was up again, wrestling the gun away from Petty Officer Johnson and throwing it into the pool. Nick was punching Johnson wherever he could, and Johnson was kicking and punching just as hard. Tim felt for his gun before remembering it was in the motel room, and looked around for anything he could use as a weapon instead.

Johnson socked Nick in the jaw and Nick lost his balance, falling headfirst into the pool. Tim saw red and he grabbed the closest thing he could-which happened to be a pool chair-and brought it down on Petty Officer Johnson's head, effectively rendering him unconscious. Tim blinked once, twice, coming back to himself, and then leaned over the pool edge. "You okay, Nick?"

Nick stood about four feet below the rim of the pool, a large gash on his head, a bruise forming on his cheek, and his knuckles bloody, but otherwise appearing unharmed, just wet. "Fine," Nick said. "So long as you help me out of the pool."

They cuffed Johnson and dragged him away from the pool just as Gibbs and Bishop pulled up. With Johnson no longer a threat, Nick and Tim retrieved their guns before heading back to work to finish their reports and get the proper paperwork filled out to arrest Johnson.

It was late evening by the time Tim and Nick got back, and Nick had stopped bleeding, but still had some very impressive bruises. Tim walked to his desk and brought out a first-aid kit. "Let me help you get patched up, at least?" he asked with a sigh.

Nick shrugged and sat on the edge of Tim's desk, ripping his still-wet shirt off his body. "Gibbs is going to kill you if he sees you shirtless in here," Tim scoffed, pulling out his surgical strips all the same.

To pass the time, and try to keep himself occupied in the here and now, Tim asked Torres something he had been meaning to for a while. "What did you get your tats for?"

"That's a long story," Nick laughed. "At least for all of them. Pick a few and I'll explain."

Tim pressed his finger lightly on a butterfly just below his shoulder blade as Nick turned his back to Tim. "Butterfly?" he asked.

"That one's for my sister," Nick said, turning back around. "Even if I can't always see her, she's always there."

Tim smiled, and touched a skull on Nick's left shoulder. "Skull?"

"That was to remind me of the time I joined a biking gang undercover. One of my more dangerous missions. A reminder to be careful and watch my step."

Tim looked down at Nick's chest and lightly touched the key right above Nick's heart. "And the key?" he asked.

"That's for whoever I love," Nick said quietly. "I may not know their name, or who they are, or what they like, yet, but this key is for them. It's silly, and symbolic, and my first. Like I said, your first isn't always what you're proud of..."

"No, I like it," Tim said, finally tearing his eyes away from Nick's tats long enough to clean up his wounds and start bandaging them. "It's...nice. Meaningful. Sweet."

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I like sweet."

"Do you?" Tim asked, arching an eyebrow and looking in Nick's eyes for the first time during their conversation. Nick's pupils were blown wide, and they had a playful mischievousness to them.

"Tim, do you like me?" Nick asked.

"Yes," Tim breathed, worried if he said it too loud it would disturb the bubble that had seemed to form around them. "Do you like me?"

Nick smiled and whispered, "I can show you exactly how I feel."

Tim closed the gap between them, and Nick put his hands around Tim's neck, pulling him in for a tender, but eager kiss. Tim hummed in approval and he could feel Nick's laugh better than he could hear it. When they broke apart, Tim grinned despite himself. "Gibbs would kill us if he saw us kissing in here."

Nick laughed and kissed Tim again. "Maybe we could head over to my place tonight, I could show you some of my tattoos you haven't seen," he teased.

"I'd like that," Tim said.

"Yeah?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Tim hummed. "I'd really like that."


End file.
